Bill > HCR164

This Concurrent Resolution urges the Department of Education to expand opportunities for arts and cultural education in public schools as a way to help students recover from learning setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution highlights research indicating that arts education, including visual arts, music, and drama, can improve critical thinking, verbal achievement, spatial reasoning, collaboration, creativity, and the ability to retain information across all subjects, and that participation in the arts is linked to positive civic engagement. It notes that Hawaii's public school students experienced significant learning loss in subjects like math, language arts, and science during the pandemic, and that the Department of Education received substantial federal funding to address these issues. The resolution also directs that copies be sent to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and the Interim Superintendent of Education.